


After.

by AnneLaurant



Category: W.I.T.C.H.
Genre: F/M, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-23
Updated: 2016-11-23
Packaged: 2018-09-01 17:57:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8632813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnneLaurant/pseuds/AnneLaurant
Summary: What ever happened to Orube when she left? The guardians, as sovereigns, with the queen of Metamoor, will now know in their mission to... "save" her. Takes place after the final issue.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Influenced by Cornelia's side of the Cornelia/Caleb special, and by the Code Geass scene where *spoilers* Shirley gets geassed by Lelouch to forget him.
> 
> So yeah. Go listen to Masquerade when the girls deal with Orube and the Book of Elements.
> 
> Also, I wrote this with the original comics' format, styles, themes, etc. in mind.

Kandrakar. The center of infinity. It calls upon its guardians to assist the many worlds it watches over. Passing many arduous tests and tasks, the guardians have reached the status of sovereigns.  
  
Today, it's a little different. Kandrakar has called for the five sovereigns to help a former guardian, their former sixth member.  
  
"Orube?!" Will repeated, "Orube?! In danger?!"  
  
"That's not possible," Irma gasped out, shaking her head in disbelief, "In Heatherfield, maybe, but in Basiliade? Not a chance! Our kitty cat has to be fine!"  
  
"Yes, you're right, Irma," Oracle Yan Lin agreed, "But you do remember what happened with the Book of Elements, do you not?"  
  
"Oh..."  
  
Irma's shoulders sank as her head followed suit. The Sovereign of Water, in one of her tests, chose love over power. Now knowing what love was, she knew how hard it must've been for Orube, who had chosen duty over heart, when Cedric had offered her to come with him.  
  
The Sovereign of Earth placed her hand on Irma's shoulder as consolation. Cornelia, too, knew how it was, but not that deeply. She once loved a Meridianite too, the former rebel leader and current lieutenant to the queen, Caleb. He had once "died", in a sense, and she fought to restore his form back. However, they had a misunderstanding and misalignment of interests, and they had to separate. Now they are friends, and she had entrusted her best friend to him.   
  
The Sovereign of Fire, Taranee, who chose passion over heart once, knew the loss as well. She kept silent, only looking at Irma and Cornelia. In her mind, she remembers Nigel, who had sacrificed his friends and his brother for her, and she, immature then, sacrificed him in pursuit of her love for dancing.  
  
Hay Lin, the Sovereign of Air, shed a tear. If only she had brought a better pen back then; maybe they could've saved Cedric. But the girls could've refused as well, reluctant to give life to the enemy who endangered them several times.  
  
The Sovereign of Energy and Keeper of the Heart still didn't know if she actually forgave the man, because it was he who had tricked Matt into getting trapped inside the book. However, Will didn't want to see Orube sad, either. Will's gaze at her teammates communicated a lot, and so did the sad looks and the small smiles they answered back.  
  
"Alright, Oracle," Will announced, "How do we help?"  
  
"Alright."  
  
Yan Lin opened a small surveillance window. It depicted what seemed to be a vial of pink liquid.  
  
"Oooh, pretty!" Irma commented, "Do we give that to Orube?"  
  
Yan Lin nodded. "Yes. This is the Leryn Solution. It was formulated by the royal court of the first Queen of Metamoor, Queen Leryn!"  
  
"So we get to visit Elyon too?" Cornelia gushed, "Oh, I mean... um... Queen Elyon."  
  
"Yes, Cornelia!"  
  
Yan Lin gave the Sovereign of Earth a long look. Cornelia stared at her, then at the image on the surveillance window. She stared, and stared, and stared. Wait...  
  
"I... I know this!" Cornelia gave a cry of recognition. "I received a vision from the former Oracle in my dreams!"  
  
"What does it do?" asked Taranee.  
  
"It's supposed to erase your memories of Earth!"  
  
"Wait," Hay Lin interrupted, "Grandma, you surely don't mean we have to... erase... Orube's memories..."  
  
Yan Lin's usual smile faded to a very sad frown. "I am deeply sorrowed, but this is the Council's decision. You see, girls..."  
  
The surveillance window changed images. It showed a different world, what seemed to be an old-era Japan bathed in reds, oranges, and yellows. Inside a house, on its wooden floor, lied Orube, wearing green robes. She clutched the Book of Elements close to her heart, and was staring at nothing.  
  
The Sovereigns all gasped.  
  
"Oh... Orube... Orube, what happened to you?"  
  
"This is awful!"  
  
"Poor her..."  
  
A woman who seemed to be her mother was nudging her. The older woman seemed to be inviting her to eat. Orube gave no response.  
  
In a few moments, the older woman turned behind her, and a man who seemed to be Orube's father came into view. He looked very disappointed, but also distraught as well. His words were mute to Kandrakar and the Sovereigns, and even more so with his daughter.  
  
"She's going to die at this rate," Yan Lin explained, "And we thought that only Leryn's potion would erase the pain for her. To see a faithful servant of Kandrakar and a brave warrior of Basiliade die in this manner... the Council grieves as well."  
  
But in that case, the sovereigns realize, Orube's memories of love would also be erased. Everyone wanted to protest, but...  
  
Orube's blank eyes stared, and stared. The dark circles underneath, the pale face, and the chapped lips.. Orube never looked more frail.  
  
Will accepted the mission, and in an instant, they warped to Meridian.  
  
\--  
  
Cornelia was the happiest to see Elyon and Caleb, more so to see that they were more or less engaged now. Irma cracked a joke about the ring Elyon was wearing... or almost cracked one, if not for Cornelia's glare. Will, Taranee, and Hay Lin were just happy to see Elyon again.  
  
The discussion they had was the complete opposite.  
  
"Oh, so somebody can actually love that snake?" Caleb scoffed, "I bet he betrayed her, and that caused her heartache."  
  
"He did, Caleb!" Hay Lin said, "Technically, that is! But he saved her from Ludmoore! That's how he died, and I think Orube hasn't recovered from the fact that he's dead..."  
  
"He was just probably showing off. I know the guy! He's terrorized the whole of Metamoor along with his master, Phobos!"  
  
"I'm not sure how to feel about this," Elyon declared, "I don't have anything against Orube. In fact, I think she's a really good person! But... I... Cedric... I don't know about him, or what to say about their relationship either."  
  
"Me too, Elyon," Will agreed, "He manipulated you, and he hurt you. Same with me and with Matt. Cedric trapped him inside Ludmoore's book, and pretended to not know anything about it. I... I should've just killed him then and there."  
  
"Will!" Taranee scolded, "You shouldn't be thinking like that!"  
  
"I know! But I... I don't know!"  
  
"We're getting nowhere with this."  
  
Silence filled the throne room for a while, until Elyon sighed and turned to her lady-in-waiting, Nagadir. The queen commanded, "Please bring me a Leryn Solution."  
  
The servant quickly left to complete her task.  
  
"Best to not think too much about it," Caleb pointed out, "If you really want your friend back, do it."  
  
"I will be there," Elyon said, "For extra measure."  
  
"In that case, Elyon, I--"  
  
"No, Caleb! Please stay here. I will need you to guide the Council in my absence. Besides..."  
  
Elyon finally managed to smile in this chaos. She even winked, and pressed a light kiss to her future husband's cheek.  
  
"You're going to be Metamoor's King in a few more years, so get used to it."  
  
"I, um, Your Highness..."  
  
And the sovereigns managed to laugh too.  
  
\--  
  
In a flash, the six girls were teleported to Basiliade. Will used her Sixtar power to find Orube. In no time, they were at the place where she resided.  
  
"Greetings, guardians!" greeted the woman in white who welcomed them, "Or should I say, sovereigns? Oh! And even the Queen of Metamoor! I am honored. My name is Sabin, and I am Orube's mother."  
  
Sabin was trying to smile, despite the sorrow. Irma could feel it. Sabin was relieved that they had come to help her daughter wake up. But, the Sovereign of Water could not tell the older woman what they had actually come here to do.  
  
"Hello, Ma'am!" At least the others could speak. "We're here to help your daughter."  
  
Sabin accepted their assistance. She lead them inside the house.  
  
"Actually," Will spoke, "I'd like to know something first. Could you... tell us what happened?"  
  
"That... I cannot bring myself to tell, anymore." Hay Lin could hear Sabin's voice quivering and almost being choked out. "However, my husband, Irode... I think he can still recall all of it..."  
  
They turned around a corner.  
  
"That book... there's something with that book, right?"  
  
Elyon decided that it was her turn to talk now. "It's magical, yes, but it's only part of the reason why your daughter is... in that horrible state. We'll... we'll take care of it. Meridian has the cure."  
  
Sabin smiled, but none of the other girls would believe that it was of relief.  
  
They arrived in a room where Orube's father sat, stern and quiet. The girls could see where Orube got her looks from; she very much resembled Irode.  
  
Sabin approached her husband, and whispered something in his ear. Irode sighed, and looked at the girls. "Please, I beg of you, save my daughter. I don't know what enchantment is in that book or what monster she encountered before she returned from Kandrakar... what did Kandrakar do to her, anyway?!"  
  
"Sir," Will explained, "There's no need to blame Kandrakar. I think, nobody is to blame on what happened to Orube. Even so, Kandrakar is now here to take responsibility for what happened to one of its most faithful servants."  
  
Elyon added, "But before everything, we would like to hear of what happened since she returned, because this is a... rather unusual case."  
  
Elyon made sure to choose her words well. Irode didn't look convinced, but still, he gave in to the request. "Very well," the elderly man said, "I will tell you.  
  
"No other warrior Basiliade sent to Kandrakar ever returned like Orube did. Even her Master, Luba, died in Kandrakar's service. It is of our utmost pride to have done so. I consider it a shame for my daughter to turn away from her supposed duty as a warrior.  
  
"But perhaps, I should remember that she is not only a warrior, but also one with feelings. Whatever happened to her with her duty... it certainly lingered in her mind. Here in Basiliade, we always lose our comrades in battles. We lose fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, children, husbands, wives... my daughter lost someone dear to her. We're not blind, sovereigns. My wife and I know that look on her face. My daughter... she lost someone she held so close to her heart."  
  
Nobody could bring themselves to say anything. Sabin even started crying.  
  
"For the first few weeks, it had been fine," Irode continued, "But Orube started to eat less and less. She refused to acknowledge that something did happen, or that she felt such deep sorrow. Eventually, she chose to lie down for the rest of the day inside her room, doing nothing at all but stare and keep that weird book close to her. I tried to take it away from her, but she wouldn't let me near it. Look."  
  
The man pulled up his sleeve, revealing a large scar across his arm. His tone and his expression changed to that of hatred.  
  
"She did this to me. My own daughter tried to kill me over a book. Who could've exchanted my daughter like this?! Who would dare do this to such a reputable lady of honor?! Who?! Tell me!"  
  
Will opened her mouth to say something, but Irode's temperament was starting to scare her. Taranee answered for her, "We... we have decided not to disclose anything, Sir."  
  
Irode slammed the table in front of him. "Curses! Curses to the man who stole my daughter from me! Curses! Ugh...!"  
  
Irma found the courage (or insanity) to say something. "We can't tell you. Even you said it, Sir. Orube lost him. He's dead. That person is dead."  
  
"But he need not take her heart and her soul with him, too!"  
  
Will could see that the man was on the verge of tears. She declared, "That's why we're here. We're going to bring her soul back. We're going to bring your daughter back, Sir."  
  
Irode could only stare at her. His feelings were all mixed and muddled up, she could tell. She added, "We promise."  
  
\--  
  
Sabin lead them to the hallway of Orube's room, and left. Finally. It was to be done, now.  
  
"We give kitty-cat her drink, and then we can go home, right?" Irma recalled their plan, "Oh right. We also make her stay. If she returns to Kandrakar, then she'll just end up going back to Heatherfield, right?"  
  
"Whether she likes it or not... I don't like this plan, girls. I don't like where this is heading." Hay Lin wiped a tear away.  
  
"We also have to destroy the book," Will decided, "If it triggers her memories, then all of our efforts will be for nothing."  
  
"We have to get it from her, then," Cornelia said.  
  
"Even if it's by force."  
  
"Even if it's by force," Elyon echoed, and brought out the potion from her robes.  
  
\--  
  
In her room, Orube stared at nothing. Of the physical world, she perceived nothing.  
  
In her mind, she is back at Heatherfield, sitting in the bookstore known as Ye Olde Bookshop. The bizz and buzz of people around her go unnoticed, because her sight is on the grumpy bookshop owner. He talks to a customer with a smile, but she knows that it's a very forced smile. He's tired of dealing with people here in Heatherfield. She doesn't like them too much either, but she's interested in some of the more intelligible things they do, so she's here, researching for an assignment Professor Korter gave her.  
  
A pencil from across her taps on the table. It's Isabel, who came, along with the rest of the club, to accomplish their club project. She wants to write an article about this reopened bookshop, a popular spot to hang out and to borrow the books you need in school. The pencil-tapping is unnoticed. Majid, her second-in-command, doesn't miss the way Orube is supposed to be staring at the bookshop owner. Majid says that their mysterious clubmate is in love with the equally mysterious man behind the counter. Orube does not deny it, nor affirm it. She merely smiles. Josh, next to her, is pouting. Ray, on the other table, is clearly disappointed.  
  
She does not mind. Instead, she returns to looking at the bookshop owner.  
  
This time, he catches her gaze. He averts his, briefly, and even quickly drops his business smile, but turns back to give her a small, but very genuine smile. His name escapes her lips, as they curve upward to catch up with the pace of her heart.  
  
"Cedric..."  
  
\--  
  
"Earth to Orube!"  
  
Irma had been trying to shake the warrior from her almost-slumber with her loud voice, to no avail. She'd tried to be nice, but Orube was not being nice back.  
  
"I can't do this anymore, girls!" Irma announced, "What do we have to do?! Do we have to tie her up and shove the potion down her throat?! I'm - I-I'm not doing that. I'm not making her drink this without her consent."  
  
Elyon answered, "Then what do we do?! We promised we'd help. We can't turn back now. I'd love for her to make the decision herself, but... I don't think she has the capability to make rational decisions now."  
  
"So we're going to make it for her? We're going to shape her future by doing something so dirty and so nasty?!"  
  
Irma was about to cry, already, but nobody had the words to comfort her. Everyone had thought Will would be the one in Irma's position, but even the Keeper of the Heart could not do it. But now, seeing as none of them had the heart to do it, Will had finally made up her mind. She was now ready to make the decision, and take the final step.  
  
"Cedric... Cedric is dead," she said, "Cedric is dead, Orube! He's dead! But don't you--! Don't you die with him! We need you! Your parents need you!"  
  
Will approached the ever-unmoving Orube, thinned and weak, but seemingly happy in her own little world inside her head. Will had to try again. She had to do it.  
  
"Cedric is dead, but Orube is not. If you want to die with him, so be it, but only Rebecca Rudolph dies!"  
  
Everyone behind her was shocked at her words. Right... that's right... the Orube who lived in Heatherfield, she was Rebecca Rudolph. To kill Rebecca Rudolph was to erase Orube's memories of her other identity. In moments, she would lose her friends at the university, her revered professor Korter, and... and...  
  
No, she would not lose him. She would be reunited with him, as she would be reunited with her parents. It was killing two birds with one stone.  
  
It was better to think of it this way.  
  
"Girls!" Will commanded, and the sovereign's hands glowed with power, "Sovereigns!"  
  
"Water!"  
  
"Fire!"  
  
"Earth!"  
  
"Air!"  
  
"Energy!"  
  
The elements flowed about in the room. Raw power made objects fly about, and in a flash, Orube was aloft in the air, her arms and legs were restrained with magical light-like rope. Having sensed that she had let go of the book in chaos, she panicked.  
  
"Cedric!" she screamed from her dream, "I have to-- I have to get him!"  
  
None of her friends could spare her any pity at this moment. If they did, they'd have no courage to continue and fulfill their mission.  
  
"Elyon," Will pleaded, "Let me do it. I have to do it. You can take care of the book."  
  
Hay Lin had caught the book, and gave it to the queen, as Elyon handed Will the potion.  
  
Will would bear this sin, this weight. She told the girls to hold Orube's head for her, and flew in front of her friend. Now, it was time to kill Rebecca Rudolph.  
  
"I'm sorry, Orube. No... I'm sorry, Rebecca. Goodbye."  
  
Orube struggled, but her body was too weak, and she could not release herself from her friends' hold. The pink liquid dripped into her open mouth, as she tried to call to a name that she would never, ever call again.  
  
\--  
  
Elyon had slipped off to the other side of the house. She made sure that she would be destroying the book in an open space, away from the people who were there.  
  
The queen was tempted to open the Book of Elements, but she chose not to. She would sully Orube's heart this way.  
  
Elyon may have, at one point, loved Cedric, and this, she tells herself, is the form of her love. She would make sure that he would never be used for anybody's plans ever again, and that he would never, ever feel any more pain.  
  
"I'm sorry, Cedric," she said, and dropped the book on the ground. Using her magic, she set it on fire. The flames, burning blue, only burned the pages of the book. This would ensure that the job will be done, without causing extra damage.  
  
 ** _"CEEEEEEEEEEEDRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!_** "  
  
Elyon had never felt any more guilty. She tried to hold back. No. There was no use for pity now. She could hear Irode and Sabin shouting their daughter's name, and said daughter's loud crying. The effects of the potion would not be immediate.  
  
"It'll be over soon. It'll be--"  
  
As she tried to calm both Orube and herself, she noticed that ink was seeping through from the burning book. The ink had blotched around to spell five letters that surely...  
  
"Oh my God... no... no! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"  
  
Elyon couldn't stand the sight, and ran away, her face strained with tears.  
  
\--  
  
Memories flood through.  
  
Their first meeting, awkward and very much like that of the so-called love at first sight. They are startled and bothered. But, they pretend like nothing happened, and carry on their own business.  
  
They meet again, and this time, they start to bond for real, where they show their real selves to each other. He calls her by her real name. She sees his pain and gives him coffee. Think of it as a welcome gift to Heatherfield. They share the same sentiments on the so-called genius craft of the humans. They go around town and eat out at a nicer place.  
  
They meet again, and they discuss romance novels. He clearly doesn't know what to say about it, but she only laughs and smiles.  
  
...she really, really wants to doubt him and trust him at the same time. But with the doubt in place, she can't bring herself to relax. His guard is up, too. He tries to show concern for her. It's genuine, the trusting side of her wants to believe, but the other side couldn't accept it.  
  
In a span of two weeks, she's learned of his world and his thoughts, as he of hers. It's told in different manners, and their beliefs on humanity still clash. They don't try to force it on each other.  
  
But they admit they've changed.  
  
Cedric will never outright say it.  
  
Orube can't directly say it.  
  
But they knew, in their hearts, that, in the short time they knew each other, they loved each other, more than one could ever love in their lifetime.  
  
It was love, love between two creatures who shouldn't have met, two aliens who belonged to different planets and different sides.  
  
But they loved, nevertheless. A Meridianite and a Basiliadean. A criminal and a warrior. They loved.  
  
It was love, one with mutual trust and respect, even if they had things they didn't agree on, even if it was their first time, together, to feel this sort of thing.  
  
Love. Cedric and Orube were very much in love, and they loved each other.  
  
And in an instant, the memory of their meeting, the memory of their parting, the memory of that love...  
  
The memories shatter, and fade away into oblivion.  
  
\--  
  
Orube surely knew how to wolf down meals like Irma did, and they were in a sort-of food fight at dinner that night. Everyone listened closely to whatever she said, and fortunately, she never spoke of Heatherfield. In her mind, she'd been spending time in Kandrakar, studying its ancient scrolls and records. She, on her own, decided that if the guardians, no, sovereigns needed her, she'd be happy to assist, but for now, she'd be staying in Basiliade.  
  
Neither Irode nor Sabin asked for the details. They were satisfied to have the problem gone and their daughter back. Everyone spoke as if they spoke of the weather, it's fine, look at it, nothing out of the ordinary.  
  
The heavy feeling inside the sovereigns' and queen's hearts were replaced with emptiness.  
  
Back in Kandrakar, the sovereigns and the queen would be thanked. Elyon would ask for her friends to escort her back, and Oracle Yan Lin gave them permission to do so.  
  
Elyon returned in Meridian with a heavy heart. Caleb congratulated her for a job well done.  
  
"You did great, Elyon. You've done good for your friend," he tried to console her.  
  
"No, Caleb. I... ugh... I took him away from her. I took her away from him," Elyon choked, "He... he loved her. He loved her, Caleb! Cedric loved Orube! He said her name... in ink... while I was burning that book... ugh... and she even screamed his name... when she... ugh... when she drank the potion!"  
  
The sovereigns themselves started crying too. Tonight, there would be no sleep nor comfort for the six of them. They had done something "good" for a very heavy price, and they are no longer children to pretend it never happened.  
  
\--  
  
Basiliade. The two suns set, and darkness settle. The cool breeze passes through the leaves of the trees, and crickets chirp. Passionate and hard-working warriors shout every now and then, fired up in their training.  
  
A girl stares at the backyard of her house. Behind her, her mother brushes her hair. Next to her, her father listens to the music of the night.  
  
"I want to train students like Luba did," the girl decides, "I have to pass on her legacy and her knowledge."  
  
"Such is acceptable," says her father, "But first, you must regain your strength."  
  
Her health has gotten better over the past few days. She needs to put her plans aside for now, for she is still recovering. She doesn't remember why or how.  
  
"Yes, thank you, Dad."  
  
Her father, in a rare occasion, shows her affection by hugging her. Her mother joins in the gesture. Her family is here. Her friends are at home in Earth and in Metamoor, safe and away from the troubles of the universe, for now.  
  
Still, Orube feels like she's missing something, _or someone_...

**Author's Note:**

> Will *probably* have a part two. Maybe.


End file.
